Fancy Lala Discussion/Appreciation Thread

[ohtori_akio]

I just feel that Fancy Lala is one of the best and most underrated Magical Girl shows ever made. I just wanted to start a thread where we could discuss what we like/dislike about the show as well as how it left you feeling after viewing it. The ending definitely left a BIG impression on me and put the entire series in a new perspective as a result. SO tell me how this magnificent (biased) series has affected you, or why you think it's bad!

[jecca-neko]

I think the main reason Fancy Lala left an impression was because it was the first magical girl show I ever saw where she didn't fight villains. It was also the first show about a girl becoming an idol that I liked. Before that I had seen Chance Pop Session and did not like it at all. Lala fixed that with better music and a better story.

One thing I know that's going to come up so I may as well bring it up now is comparisons to Full Moon wo Sagashite. I do enjoy Full Moon as well, but there's some things I still enjoy more about Fancy Lala.

1) More about her outside life: In Full Moon, the show is focused primarily on Full Moon's career. In Fancy Lala, it's almost like a Jekyl/Hyde sort of thing in that you get to see both sides fairly evenly. I enjoy seeing the adventures of both Lala and Miho. Lala and Miho also have a larger age difference so there's more difference between the two.
2) Comedy: Fancy Lala is focused a bit more on comedy. Full Moon has comedy too, but I see that show as a bit more about the drama.
3) Transformation and the Difficulties: I like how Miho has to draw different outfits for herself before transforming. You also get to see the transformation sequence a heck of a lot more. In Full Moon you rarely see it and that almost makes it feel like it is NOT a magical girl show. Also I like how Miho has more problems transforming, usually relating to not having a place to transform or that she has obligations as both Miho and Lala so has to run back and forth. In Full Moon Mitsuki was a sick girl. She didn't have many obligations outside of Full Moon.

[touma]

I really like Fancy Lala.
It is not on my list of 10 favorite shows, but it did make my top 20. It could break the top 10 when I get around to watching it again.

The problem now is that I have not seen it for so long that I really cannot comment intelligently on it. It is on my rewatch list, but I doubt that I will get to it for a couple of weeks since I just started watching Magic Knight Rayearth and rewatching Angelic Layer.

If this thread still has life when I do rewatch Fancy Lala I might have something to contribute.

[SpoilerHappy]

[ QUOTE ]
jecca-neko said:
...

Also I like how Miho has more problems transforming, usually relating to not having a place to transform or that she has obligations as both Miho and Lala so has to run back and forth....

[/ QUOTE ]

I also liked Fancy Lala (although I haven't watched it in a while) for exactly this reason. Whereas most idol-style magical girl shows make the idol life a bit of an ideal, Fancy Lala did an great job of capturing the obligations and complications. I love the scene a few episodes in where Miho is on the phone with her mom and on a cell phone with her manager at the same time! And the show with the kitten she drew with her magic was very touching.

Not in my top 5 magical girl titles as it does feel pretty light at times (I love Full Moon for its drama), but definitely a great title.

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

Put simply, Fancy Lala is a charming show. Miho is a Magical Girl without the pressure of having to save the world. And Mogu and Pigu have the best power of all... being hungry all the time! /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif And hey, Miho wants to be a manga artist... which instantly makes her a cool kid.

It's definitely a cute show, and when I'm in the mood to watch something that puts a smile on my face the whole way through, Fancy Lala is high on that list. It's structured almost perfectly, and the ending is very touching.

[Njr Scrawl]

High on my list as it has Akemi Takeda designed characters /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

Its awhile since I've watched it (& wish Bandai has given it a box on first release).

Prefer it as a mahou shoujo show to Creamy Mami, but perhaps because its meant for an older audience.

I'll have a re-watch after KOR & CM.

[coelacanth]

As I have already said on this forum, Fancy Lala has, probably, my favorite ending of an anime TV series. There is a lot of things to like about this lovely series, and I agree with much of what the others say. The only magical girl show I like better is Magical Project S which is something completely different. As for "idol shows" I've seen, I like it the most, better than Chance Pop Sessions which I liked a lot, and Idol Angel Yokoso Yohko which veered between delightful and excruciating.

AJC

[DrMM]

A very good magical girl show and I love that it has a different feel to it, since there are no villians. I also adore the ending, which is a very realistic way to end the show. I wasn't huge on the ending the first time I watched it but on my second viewing, I really decided I liked it.

[doink-chan]

Fancy Lala is one of those shows that is underrated in both the U.S. and Japan...in Japan it had the misfortune of debuting when CCS was the Big Thing and so it went mostly unnoticed. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif Not that I don't like CCS too, but Fancy Lala is a great throwback/tribute to the Studio Pierrot magical girl shows of the 80s. It's not in doinkies' top 20 anime shows, but it's certainly a very good magical girl series and my second favorite of the "idol" subgenre of magical girl shows (my first being FMoS).

I tend to be a sucker for anime and manga about people becoming idols/singers/actors/breaking into show business in general, so when I found this show and FMoS, I was very pleased to watch these "idol anime" that were NOT doinky, unlike a lot of others about the subject matter...(Lemon Angel Project anyone? *barf*)

[KShinjo]

Fancy Lala is indeed a throwback to the classic 80's Pierrot produced mahou shoujo anime. It follows many of the thematic points that are common to the "Pierrot mahou shoujo series".

Such include -

1. The main lead is a normal girl of grade school age (between 10-12 yrs old)
2. The magic is given to her by those from another dimension/world
3. The magic allows the girl to transform to an adult form of herself
4. The sidekicks are from the other world and are there to give advice
5. The seiyuu for the girl is a new idol singer and sings the theme song
6. The girl grows up as a result of her experiences with the magic

Anyway, I think Fancy Lala is one fantastic anime. I was surprised and pleased when Bandai picked up this title. But it seems to not have sold well, which I think is unfortunate.

I purchased the R1 singles as it came out. I also ended up buying the R2 box set. That's how much I like this series. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

What I like abut the series -

1. The artwork and animation which is exceptionally done despite being a TV series.
2. The gorgeous Takada Akemi character designs.
3. The music.
4. The slice-of-life feel.
5. The overall feel good nature of the show.
6. No melodrama.

[ohtori_akio]

I'm so glad that there are other Fancy Lala fans here! I though I was alone in liking that series since it is so rarely mentioned...

During the middle of the series I was kinda disappointed that they didn't focus on her career so much (with the water imp episode and such) but by the time the great ending came, I was blown away by how well the whole show was built up... I realise now that a lot of you enjoyed those elements and that makes me happy /images/graemlins/happy.gif

Fancy Lala to me is fantastic because it manages to end as strongly as it begins without ever hitting melodrama. And boy could they have with the last few episodes! That, to me makes it better than Chance Pop Session (even though I like the latter too).

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>What did you guys make of Lala's hairdresser and the cyclic nature of who becomes an idol? I thought this was incredibly well made...</span>

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

[ QUOTE ]
shounen kakumei akio said:

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>What did you guys make of Lala's hairdresser and the cyclic nature of who becomes an idol? I thought this was incredibly well made...</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>That Miho's older sister (Chisa, I think? I haven't watched this show in a while...) was also visited by Fushigi-san and given the chance to take that route, but didn't, was a brilliant subtle touch to how that whole system works.</span>

[ohtori_akio]

[ QUOTE ]
Serial Experiments NieA said:
[ QUOTE ]
shounen kakumei akio said:

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>What did you guys make of Lala's hairdresser and the cyclic nature of who becomes an idol? I thought this was incredibly well made...</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>That Miho's older sister (Chisa, I think? I haven't watched this show in a while...) was also visited by Fushigi-san and given the chance to take that route, but didn't, was a brilliant subtle touch to how that whole system works.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

I know, it was awesome! <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I'm still curious about the hairdresser knowing about the whole system though... I wonder if he was an idol himself... Another character that gave subtle hints towards knowing was Lala's agent. I for got her name but it's the main lady at the agency... </span>

[amaneaux]

Count me among Lala's fans. I've always liked magical girl shows, and this is one of the few I've seen which did not involve a fight against evil in some fashion (Miracle Girls and Hime-chan's Ribbon are the only others I've seen that I can think of.) I also like performance-related shows, including the oft-mentioned Chance Pop Session (my all-time favorite anime.)
One of the things I like about Fancy Lala is the understated drama. Most anime beat the big issues to death, but Lala tends more to hint at the resulting emotions, rather than focusing on them directly. The end of the episode with the kitten Lilu is a perfect example.
I also like Miho's sister, Chisa, who gets bonus points for actually going after the intelligent, good-hearted guy who other girls ignore.

[Sheena]

Count me in for the Lala fans. I loved this show for reasons mentioned above. It seemed more realistic in a way than a lot of other magical girl animes. It's hard to describe. Magic has aspects everywhere. Like when Miho gets lost in the forest, or the insider episode with Chisa. Magical stuff happens even outside of the magical transformation into Lala.

Why it didn't click with many anime fans, I don't know. Maybe sometimes it's a bit pedestrian about some aspects of the dual life of Miho.

And there are episodes in which Lala doesn't even factor in when the action focused more on Miho and/or her family, friends and so on. I think it breaks in a way from the magical girl anime mold in that in other animes you practically had to have a transformation per episode (talking about CCS like doink-chan mentioned which was rather formulaic that way for example). Maybe that lack of well defined formula confused the audiences and with other really good show around, it kinda was left by the wayside.

[machineger4]

Seeing this thread makes me feel good that I bought the Fancy Lala boxset for $20 at Otakon. All these positive comments make me look forward to it a bit more.

[vanfanel]

I bought the singles at B&amp;M stores when they originally came out, and also enjoyed the show a lot (though I do remember being glad when it ended, so that big masculine me didn't have to approach sales clerks anymore with pink DVD cases that said "Fancy Lala" /images/graemlins/happy.gif When I moved to Japan two years ago, I left some of my stuff with friends, who recently informed me that they're *finally* getting around to watching Fancy Lala...and are enjoying it very much.

The ending wasn't what I expected; it was better. A lovely little show all around.

[nakimushi]

I really liked Fancy Lala as well.

I thought that Miho's characterization was very well done, which added to the strength of the ending. Her growth during the series was handled quite skillfully.

I remember reading a review where the reviewer was complaining about the lack of action in Fancy Lala, and said that instead of action all it had was "teary-eyed epiphanies".

That "recommendation" piqued my interest and after reading a few, more thoughtful, reviews), I bought the show, and I loved every minute of it.

[ohtori_akio]

This thread seems (unfortunately) to have died with not that many questions or critics raised. Let's chat a little about the characters...

For instance did anyone like Yochida Taro?

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

Alright, I'll help save this thread from the slide into obscurity... /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

Taro was pretty good for a supporting character, in the somewhat standard boy-makes-fun-of-and-teases-a-girl-he-likes role. And there's also his unique family situation, which provides a nice twist when Lala is in the picture. If it hadn't been so long since I've watched Fancy Lala, I'm sure I could think of more!

[ohtori_akio]

Decided to save this thread as I am rewatching the show at the moment. A lot of the going-ons of the later episodes are hinted at already and I am up to episode 10. I never thought there were so many layers in such a simple show, no wonder I ended up loving it so much in the first place... It is potentially as deep as Utena. Anyone else seen it or anyone else rewatched it since the last time this thread was alive?